{"id":26907,"date":"2022-09-05T03:28:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T03:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/amjur\/contracts-sect-669.html"},"modified":"2022-08-25T11:48:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T11:48:00","slug":"contracts-sect-669","status":"publish","type":"amjur","link":"https:\/\/reference.findlaw.com\/amjur\/contracts-sect-669.html","title":{"rendered":"Am Jur 2d – Contracts \u00a7 669"},"content":{"rendered":"
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VI. Performance or Breach, F. Excuses for Nonperformance, 5. Act or Breach by Adverse Party, a. When Breach Excuses Performance, \u00a7 669 – Definition of breach; performance excused or not excused<\/h2>\n

When performance of a duty under a contract is due, a failure to perform is a breach.[1<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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Definition:<\/div>\n

The word “breach,” as applied to contracts, is defined as a failure without legal excuse to perform any promise that forms a whole or a part of a contract, including the refusal of a party to recognize the existence of the contract or a party’s act that is inconsistent with its existence.[2<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A party who has brought about a breach of contract may not insist upon its performance,[3<\/a>] and thus, a breach of contract caused solely by one party’s behavior is generally excused as to the other party.[4<\/a>] However, a party is not automatically excused from performing in the future every time the other party breaches.[5<\/a>] Only where one party substantially breaches a contract does the other party to it have a defense and an excuse for nonperformance.[6<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The Restatement provides that a party’s failure to render or to offer performance may affect the nonbreaching party’s duties under the rules dealing with remaining duties to perform[7<\/a>] and simultaneous exchange of performances,[8<\/a>] even though that failure is justified by the nonoccurrence of a condition.[9<\/a>] However, this rule[10<\/a>] does not apply if the other party assumed the risk that he or she would have to perform in spite of such a failure.[11<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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All case links go to Westlaw and require login.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

1<\/a> \u00a0 Restatement Second, Contracts \u00a7 235(2)<\/a> <\/span>.
<\/span> \u00a0The failure to perform at the time stated in the contract establishes an immediate breach. Franconia Associates v. U.S., 536 U.S. 129, 122 S. Ct. 1993, 153 L. Ed. 2d 132 (2002)<\/a> <\/span>.
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2<\/a> \u00a0 Magnusson Agency v. Public Entity Nat. Company-Midwest, 560 N.W.2d 20 (Iowa 1997)<\/a> <\/span>; National City Bank of Cleveland v. Erskine & Sons, 158 Ohio St. 450, 49 Ohio Op. 395, 110 N.E.2d 598 (1953)<\/a> <\/span>.
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3<\/a> \u00a0 Williams Const., Inc. v. Wehr Const., L.L.C., 403 S.W.3d 660 (Mo. Ct. App. S.D. 2012)<\/a> <\/span>; Fitzgibbons Boiler Co. v. National City Bank of New York, 287 N.Y. 326, 39 N.E.2d 897 (1942)<\/a> <\/span>; Seneca Resources Corp. v. S & T Bank, 2015 PA Super 181, 122 A.3d 374 (2015)<\/a> <\/span>; CCD, L.C. v. Millsap, 2005 UT 42, 116 P.3d 366 (Utah 2005)<\/a> <\/span>.
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4<\/a> \u00a0 Hometown Financial, Inc. v. U.S., 409 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2005)<\/a> <\/span>; Arkansas Realtors Ass’n v. Real Forms, LLC, 2014 Ark. 385, 442 S.W.3d 845 (2014)<\/a> <\/span>; Diversified Foods, Inc. v. First Nat. Bank of Boston, 605 A.2d 609, 17 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d 1028 (Me. 1992)<\/a> <\/span>; Peabody N.E., Inc. v. Town of Marshfield, 426 Mass. 436, 689 N.E.2d 774 (1998)<\/a> <\/span>; Soderbeck v. Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Inc., 793 N.W.2d 437 (Minn. Ct. App. 2010)<\/a> <\/span>; FPL Energy Upton Wind I, L.P. ex rel. Electric Utility Dept. v. City Of Austin, 240 S.W.3d 456 (Tex. App. Amarillo 2007)<\/a> <\/span>.
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5<\/a> \u00a0 SUFI Network Services, Inc. v. U.S., 105 Fed. Cl. 184 (2012)<\/a> <\/span>; LAD Services of Louisiana, L.L.C. v. Superior Derrick Services, L.L.C., 167 So. 3d 746 (La. Ct. App. 1st Cir. 2014)<\/a> <\/span>, writ not considered, 162 So. 3d 392 (La. 2015)<\/a> <\/span>; Management Computer Services, Inc. v. Hawkins, Ash, Baptie & Co., 206 Wis. 2d 158, 557 N.W.2d 67 (1996)<\/a> <\/span>.
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6<\/a> \u00a0 Lepi Enterprises, Inc. v. National Environmental Service Corp., 440 F.3d 937 (8th Cir. 2006)<\/a> <\/span>; LAD Services of Louisiana, L.L.C. v. Superior Derrick Services, L.L.C., 167 So. 3d 746 (La. Ct. App. 1st Cir. 2014)<\/a> <\/span>, writ not considered, 162 So. 3d 392 (La. 2015)<\/a> <\/span>; Accadia Site Contracting, Inc. v. Erie County Water Authority, 115 A.D.3d 1351, 983 N.Y.S.2d 387 (4th Dep’t 2014)<\/a> <\/span>.
<\/span> \u00a0As to what is a material breach, see \u00a7\u00a7 670<\/a> <\/span>, 671<\/a> <\/span>.
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7<\/a> \u00a0 Restatement Second, Contracts \u00a7 237<\/a> <\/span>.
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8<\/a> \u00a0 Restatement Second, Contracts \u00a7 238<\/a> <\/span>.
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9<\/a> \u00a0 Restatement Second, Contracts \u00a7 239(1)<\/a> <\/span>.
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10<\/a> \u00a0 Restatement Second, Contracts \u00a7 239(1)<\/a> <\/span>.
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11<\/a> \u00a0 Restatement Second, Contracts \u00a7 239(2)<\/a> <\/span>.
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Read this complete Am Jur 2d section on Westlaw<\/a><\/b><\/div>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false},"class_list":["post-26907","amjur","type-amjur","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reference.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/amjur\/26907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reference.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/amjur"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reference.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/amjur"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reference.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}